Murray suffers defeat in mixed doubles final
Thursday, 04 Sep 2008 20:55
Jamie Murray unable to win a second Grand Slam
Jamie Murray's hopes of winning a second Grand Slam title have been dashed after he and partner Liezel Huber lost in the US Open mixed doubles final.
The Scottish star and his American partner lost a close final 7-6 (8-6) 6-4 to the fifth seeds Leander Paes and Cara Black.
Huber had to save three break points on her second service game, but herself and Murray should have won the first set in the tie-break as they took a 5-2 lead. They failed on their first set point as Black came up with a stunning winner and they lost the second set point when Murray pushed a volley into the net.
The unseeded pair had blown their chance as Paes and Black came fighting back to take the set 8-6 on the tie-break.
Murray and Huber had an opportunity to take an early lead in the second set, but again they failed to convert their chances as Paes held onto his serve despite having break points against him.
The match was all but over when Murray crucially had his serve broken in the fifth game of the set. The 23-year-old looked nervous on his serve throughout and a poor volley allowed Black to take advantage and hit another winner to earn the break.
Murray and Huber failed to put pressure on the Paes serve and the veteran Indian star comfortably served out for the match.
It was further disappointment for Murray and Huber at the hands of Paes, who knocked them out of the semi-final stage last year.
"We played great the whole week. Last year we were playing our first tournament together and we lost to this man [Paes] again. I was looking for a bit of revenge today but it wasn't to be," said Murray.